It's not always the case that the two best teams in a competition meet in the final, but there was certainly a case for this when Radamel Falcao inspired Atletico Madrid to victory over Athletic Bilbao in the 2011-12 Europa League.
Atleti had a very good argument, having won every single one of their knockout legs. Their opponents, meanwhile, had topped their group under Marcelo Bielsa before securing stunning home and away victories over Manchester United on their way to the final.
Diego Simeone's team had a squad which, while not yet capable of challenging for domestic honours, had more than enough to conquer Europe's secondary competition. They had a promising young goalkeeper by the name of Thibaut Courtois, future La Liga winners Juanfran and Diego Godin in defence, and, in Falcao, one of the best strikers on the continent at that moment in time.
